When Julie was a girl her grandmother, Anita Aucoin Hébert, reigned as President of the Ladies Altar Society. These women were responsible for maintaining the starched linen altar cloths for St. Stephen’s church, as well as the flowers, the priest’s robes, the rummage sales, offerings for the poor and anything else that came up. Under cover of this “women’s work” they pretty much ran the town. In honor of these fierce, dedicated, spiritual women who found ways to exert influence in their community despite societal proscriptions, Julie convenes a gathering of women writers once a month in her home to read and discuss their work.
